For Funders
ARC Fund delivers 23x leverage and costs 16% less than a direct grant for the same borrower benefit. Here is the full investment case.
This 16% cost advantage is constant at every loan size. It does not diminish as the portfolio scales.
Leverage is calculated as full loan principal divided by philanthropic cost per deal ($150K / $6,428 for ARC Fund, $150K / $7,698 for a direct grant). This reflects the loan amount unlocked per dollar deployed, not capital directly transferred. The more conservative and auditable comparison is cost per deal: ARC Fund costs $1,270 less than a direct grant to produce the same monthly payment reduction for the same borrower.
Adjust your commitment to see pool size, deals supported, and subsidy deployed. Year 1 pilot pool target is $1.5M.
| Year | Pool Capital (Cumulative) | Deals (Annual) | Subsidy Deployed | Operating Expenses | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 (2026) | $1,500,000 | 20 | ~$154K | $43,000 | $95,619 |
| Year 2 (2027) | $2,000,000 | 50 | ~$385K | $125,000 | $169,547 |
| Year 3 (2028) | $2,500,000 | 100 | ~$770K | $210,000 | $276,094 |
| Year 4 (2029) | $3,000,000 | 175 | ~$1.35M | $305,000 | $427,914 |
| Year 5 (2030) | $5,000,000 | 250 | ~$1.93M | $412,000 | $639,735 |
Revenue exceeds all operating costs including founder salary beginning Year 2.
Base case projections at $150K average loan size. Revenue includes origination fees (1% per deal), service fees (3% of subsidy), management fee (1% of pool), investment return on idle pool capital (4%), and data subscriptions beginning Year 3. Founder salary of $85K included in Year 2 expenses onward. Revenue supports full-time founder beginning Year 2.
Four documented programs with structural parallels to ARC Fund give funders a clear evidence base.
| Program | Capital Source | Buy-Down | Loan Range | Geography | Borrower | Subsidy Method | Outcomes Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
ARC Fund Affordability Rate Capital Appalachian region · Pre-launch |
Philanthropic pool 501(c)(3) |
300 bps fixed 36 months |
$75K – $500K+ | Appalachian region 8-state reach |
Creditworthy small businesses declined for affordability | Flat monthly payment difference Quarterly in arrears |
Proprietary deal-level dataset Published open research |
|
LiftFund / Corpus Christi Corpus Christi, TX · Est. 2004 |
Municipal City Type A funds |
Up to 700 bps Rate to 5.5% |
$5K – $75K | Single city only Corpus Christi, TX |
Small businesses denied by traditional lenders | Annual municipal allocation to CDFI | 901 jobs · 399 loans $7.1M deployed |
|
FHLBank Indianapolis Indiana & Michigan · 2024 |
Federal Home Loan Bank Government-sponsored enterprise |
Rate to 0% On CDFI advances |
CDFI-level Not per borrower |
Indiana and Michigan only | CDFIs as borrowers Not direct to small businesses |
Grant to member banks First-come basis |
$5.9M deployed $26M+ in CDFI loans · 15 institutions |
|
FHLBank Boston New England · 2024 |
Federal Home Loan Bank Government-sponsored enterprise |
Up to 200 bps Permanent |
Income-eligible mortgages | New England district only | Income-eligible homebuyers Housing focus only |
Rate reduction embedded permanently in loan terms | Limited public data available |
|
USVI Energy Efficiency Loan U.S. Virgin Islands · CDFI Fund |
CDFI Fund Federal grant |
Grant used as ongoing rate payments | Energy efficiency projects | U.S. Virgin Islands only | Property owners seeking energy efficiency financing | One-time grant deployed as ongoing payment stream | Program-specific Not publicly benchmarked |
Sources: ICIC, City of Corpus Christi, FHLBank Indianapolis, FHLBank Boston, CDFI Fund · 2024–2025
We are building the founding funder group now. The first close supports 20 qualifying deals in Year 1, at $6,428 net pool cost per deal.